How Leasehold Landlords File Ground Rent and Service Charges (and What the Tenant Sees)

Friday, a freeholder or managing-agent demand lands, and there is no note on the file whether this amount already sits in the rent. Treat it as yours. File the demand, the summary that came with it, and the bank proof you paid the named payee in one property tab. Write “in rent” or “absorbed”. Clip any existing AST contribution clause — do not invent a fee, and do not ask the tenant to pay the freeholder. Section 20 notices live in the same folder.

Friday at Odette’s one leasehold flat in Greenwich. The managing agent emails a service-charge demand while the tenant is in occupation. The problem is there is no note whether this cost already sits in the rent. Last year a similar PDF went to the flat because the freeholder still had the property address; the tenant forwarded it with “is this ours?”.

Ground rent is not due until a valid written demand in the prescribed form arrives. GOV.UK: if the lease was granted before 30 June 2022, you do not have to pay unless the freeholder has sent a formal written demand. LEASE, last updated 1 December 2025: if you let the flat, give them a correspondence address, or the next envelope goes to the tenanted property. Typical mistake and risk: treating the tenant’s forward as their bill.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

Why does the demand come to you, not the tenant?

You are the leaseholder — the person who holds the long lease. The freeholder or managing agent demands you, not the AST tenant who pays you rent under an assured shorthold tenancy. If the PDF arrived via the tenant, save it here and send the agent your correspondence address.

Do pay the named payee yourself. NRLA, published 20 July 2026: as the leaseholder you pay the service charge directly to the freeholder or management company. NetRent, 31 July 2026: the freeholder still demands the leaseholder. Do not email the PDF to the flat with “please pay this”.

For example, Odette’s tenant asked “is this ours?” because the envelope still went to Greenwich. The tenant sees a forward, not a bill. Do not require a managing-agent contract.

What to keep on the leasehold money file?

Keep six things on one property tab, one address. File the written demand, the summary of rights or budget that came with it, and bank proof you paid the named payee. Add a dated in-rent or absorbed line, any existing AST contribution clause, and Section 20 notices.

Do label files service-charge-YYYY-MM-DD.pdf, ground-rent-YYYY-MM-DD.pdf, s20-YYYY-MM-DD.pdf. LEASE: a demand must be in writing, name the landlord, and come with the statutory summary of rights and obligations. Do not drop this into the tenant rent schedule.

Tenant rent who/when lives on who paid which rent period. This tab is freeholder money. Leftover supplier bills after a tenancy are a different clip: end-of-tenancy utility bills.

If a demand arrives with no landlord name or address, file it anyway. Section 47 of the 1987 Act: the service-charge part is not due until that information is given. That withhold is leaseholder to freeholder, not a pause on the AST tenant’s rent.

How do you mark in-rent versus absorbed?

Write one dated line on the same sitting. “In rent” means this quarter was already allowed for when you set the rent. “Absorbed” means you are not recovering it from this tenant. This is a file note, not a new invoice.

Do not email “your share is £x this quarter” unless that contribution is already in the signed AST — and even then you still pay the freeholder yourself. NRLA: recover through rent, or absorb. GOV.UK tenancy fees, last updated 7 July 2026: only listed payments are permitted in England.

Typical mistake: inventing a mid-tenancy “service charge contribution” because the block bill went up. Rent is a permitted payment. A made-up leasehold fee is not on that list. In practice, Odette needed one Greenwich line.

Which AST clause copy belongs next to this demand?

If the AST already has a contribution or service-charge clause, clip a copy of that page next to this demand. The original lives in the tenancy-agreement folder. The copy sits here so Friday does not become a hunt through the AST.

Do keep the original with the versions you already file. What to keep in a tenancy agreement folder owns the signed AST. This clip holds a copy next to this demand. If there is no clause, write absorbed, or in rent — do not invent a tenant fee.

The permitted-payment list is closed. Tenant Fees Act 2019 Schedule 1 sets what you may require in England. You cannot require the tenant to start a third-party service contract. Do not send them to the managing agent as payer.

Where do Section 20 major-works notices go?

Section 20 is the consultation for planned qualifying works or a qualifying long-term agreement. Park the notice of intention, the statement of estimates, any observations you sent, and the later demand in this same property tab. File the notices you received.

Do note the thresholds. LEASE, last updated 19 December 2025: consult if more than £250 per leaseholder for planned qualifying works, or £100 per year for a long-term agreement, including VAT. If consultation was skipped, recovery can be capped unless a tribunal grants dispensation — then get advice. If a demand is labelled building-safety, file it and get advice on that pack.

When to file a ground-rent demand that looks incomplete?

Check it looks like a demand, then file and pay the named payee. Section 166 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 sets the form: amount, period, due date 30 to 60 days, names and payee. File a non-prescribed slip and check it.

Most new long residential leases from 30 June 2022 are peppercorn — one peppercorn a year, zero financial value. An assignment of a pre-2022 lease still carries the old ground rent. If a financial demand arrives on a regulated new lease, file it and get advice — see GOV.UK Ground Rent Act 2022.

For a service charge with no summary of rights, you may withhold payment to the freeholder until the summary arrives. File the incomplete demand and request the summary. Catch-up ground rent can go back six years; costs more than 18 months old usually need a prior notice. GOV.UK, 15 July 2026 flags standardised demand forms from 2027. File today’s demand.

Friday opens one tab: demand, summary, bank proof, in-rent or absorbed line, AST clause copy if any, Section 20 notices. An IziRento workspace can hold those records next to the property and the lease. Success bar: that tab. Verify that checklist, then stop.